Noisy heater fan motor - FALSE ALARM

[JonB]

The HVAC blower motor on my 2019 Ranger just started making a growling noise like bad bearings. Anyone replace one. If so, how?

Thanks.

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[airline tech]

Easy:
But before replacing it, remove the blower motor and ensure squirl cage is clean of debris (Leaves, Mouse Bedding Etc.)
Common for debris to get into the squirl cage and cause noise as it spins.

They run about $114.00.
It's nomenclated as a Blower Motor Control Module as it is all in one unit the blower motor and the blower motor control module.

Just under the Glovebox and below the cabin filter (Check - Clean or Replace) this as well.
3 Screws and a connector and its out.

 

[chrisakz]

Surprisingly simple to remove. Just 3 Philips screws like airline tech shows.I had debris from someone trying to make a nest fall into the fan causing severe vibration after removing my cabin air filter. Removal and installation is pretty straight forward.

 

[JonB]

False alarm. Wife was driving the truck and hadn’t heard the blower kick up to its highest speed (it was -10F here) so she thought it was bad. Double-checked the blower and wife — both OK.

Thanks for the suggestions for removing the blower motor.

 

[KJRR]

False alarm. Wife was driving the truck and hadn’t heard the blower kick up to its highest speed (it was -10F here) so she thought it was bad. Double-checked the blower and wife — both OK.

Thanks for the suggestions for removing the blower motor.

Idk, I'd get a second opinion on the wife.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

False alarm. Wife was driving the truck and hadn’t heard the blower kick up to its highest speed (it was -10F here) so she thought it was bad. Double-checked the blower and wife — both OK.

Thanks for the suggestions for removing the blower motor.

Diagnosing fan noises can be tricky sometimes.

Mom’s 20-year old Lincoln Mark VIII had a radiator fan issue. She said it was intermittently growling and was very noisy at start-up. She took it to the local Ford dealer and was told the fan bearing was failing and she needed a new one - you can’t buy just the fan because it’s riveted to a fan shroud. So, it requires a shroud assembly (shroud, blade, motor, harness) and a lot of labour. She asked me if I could help. I was able to buy the replacement fan motor and brought it up to her place. Her fan sounded fine to me but the dealer said she needed a new one so I disassembled things, drilled out the rivets, installed the new fan motor, reassembled everything, topped up and burped the cooling system (a bazillion times - hate that closed system). Saved her hundreds of dollars.

A couple of weeks later, I had to drive her somewhere and we used her car. When I started it up, the “air-ride” compressor kicked in to bring the front struts up to pressure - they are notorious for developing a minor leak when they get older and when it kicks in, it’s definitely noticeable and makes an unmistakable compressor sound.

Mom huffed and said, “There goes that damn fan again!”

This was eight years ago - I’m still mad at the dealer. ?

 

[Jason B]

Something similar happened to me. When driving my '95 F150 over hard pumps, I'd get a loud clunking noise. I thought it was something with the suspensions. I took it to a repair shop that said I had bad radial arm bushing. So, I paid $$$ for them to fix it. A couple weeks later, I get the same clunking. After a little inspection, I found that it was my trailer hitch, under the seat, that was making the noise.

 

[Ranger_Rocks]

Dust build-up on the fan cage can create imbalance causing rumbling especially at higher speeds.

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